The Drinking Game
by Minka
Summary: RotK clip inspired. A drinking game between Gimli and Legolas gets slightly out of hand - but who really wins? And what is Aragorn's part in all this? AL


Ok, I know I haven't updated anything for awhile, but I have my reasons. I've just been having a bit of a shitful time, so please, PLEASE don't remind me of my lack of updates. I promise that I will have the next chapter of The Thrill of the Chase up as soon as I can, but at the moment, I'm unable to give you a more specific date. Sorry, but please understand.  
  
Do not be fooled by the beginning, it has its angst-y moments towards the end. The person who I was writing this for wanted a L/A sappy, fluffy, humorous angst story - do you know how hard it is to get all those things into ONE story????  
  
As I said this was written for a secret Santa, so I couldn't post it anywhere else and it was written AGES ago. The problem with that is that there now many stories on this subject, so I am no longer the original *cries*. Also, I have now been informed that this scene, though not in the movie, took place in Rohan.I said Gondor. so yes, there will be a lot of things that are incorrect.  
  
Summary: RotK clip inspired. A drinking game between Gimli and Legolas gets slightly out of hand - but who really wins? And what is Aragorn's part in all this? A/L  
  
Dedication: For Elizabeth Greenleaf, Merry Christmas! For the Lord of the Rings Secret Santa challenge ()  
  
Author's notes: Ok, I haven't seen the movie yet (I live so close to the place that it was filmed and yet my country gets it after most of the rest of the world...bloody Australia - have to wait until boxing day...) so this is likely to be way off. I did see this 'Beyond the Movie' special on tv the other night and they were at one stage talking about Legolas and Gimli's friendship, and, lucky me, they showed this clip. I LOVED it - thought it was cute...as well as the Elf - and decided to base this story around it. Be afraid...  
  
Later author's note: I have just recently read that this scene will not be in the movie at the OBfiles...  
  
*****  
  
"So it's a drinking game?" Legolas asked with disbelief. The people around him cheered and lifted their goblets in a boisterous reply and once again, Legolas found himself looking to Gimli. Honestly, some of the things these humans, and even his dwarven friend, concocted were well beyond questionable and lacking even an ounce of sanity.  
  
Leaning back against one of the large pillars in the main hall of the palace of Gondor, the Elven prince tried his hardest not to look disgusted at the entire idea. However, the people around him seemed to think that it was the best thing they had heard all week. Mugs were raised in toast, bets were shouted and challenges issued between all those willing to take part in such a foolish idea.  
  
Having what was obviously a much harder time understanding and taking to the concept, Legolas frowned as he looked down at Gimli. "And what exactly is the point of it?"  
  
The dwarf looked up at the Elven prince as if he had suddenly grown two heads; who had ever heard of questioning the reasons behind a drinking game? "Last one standing wins!" he supplied knowing full well that his companion wouldn't act without an explanation.  
  
Legolas rolled his eyes and shrugged. The terms seemed fair enough...if a bit primitive.  
  
Lifting the mug to his lips, Legolas told himself over and over again that he could not allow the dwarf to best him on this occasion. Helm's Deep had been a lucky one-shot for Gimli and since the dwarf had refused to accept Legolas' last 'kill', the friendly rivalry had intensified between them. In short, there was no way that Legolas was going to stand down from this challenge. After all, it was merely human ale and Legolas had been drinking the far better liquor of his people for centuries.  
  
With a little tip, he allowed a small flow of the liquid to enter his mouth and, despite his first thoughts and opinions on the subject, could not help but scrunch up his face in disgust and look slightly worried.  
  
A quick glance around him saw that the rest of those involved were merrily drinking their mugs and singing a rowdy and rather vulgar human song and that, more importantly, Gimli was looking up at him with a self-assured smirk.  
  
Never one to be bested without a fight, Legolas tightly closed his eyes and tipped the cup, draining its content in one gulp. Fighting back the want to cough and spit the foul liquid back out, the Elven prince forced himself to swallow, feeling the thick liquid burn its way down his throat and explode with a strange heat in his chest and stomach. Blinking his eyes open, the shocked look on Gimli's face made the entire ordeal well worth it, and without another thought, he rather heavily plunked the mug down on the wooden bench next to the dwarf.  
  
"Next!"  
  
*****  
  
Intending to search out his companions, Aragorn walked into the great hall and...stopped.  
  
The place looked like a bloodless battle field. His eye fell upon Gimli first who was slumped on the floor, his back resting heavily against the wall and his head lolled slightly to the side. His eyes were open and his hand still tightly gripped the handle of his mug in a way which insured that he keep it from spilling its content all over his clothing. It was obvious that he was doing a lot better then most of the other contestants. Humans lay left right and center, sprawled on the floor, over the top of one and other and propped up against walls and table legs, all with a dazed and disorientated look to them. Most had their eyes closed, their mouths open and their cups lying in their laps, allowing the liquid to flow out and drench their clothes and form small puddles on the floor.  
  
Though it was quite a sight to behold, the soon to be crowned king was not at all interested with the drunken mass of bodies which littered the ground. For, sitting over at the far corner, looking intently into Faramir's eyes and with a full mug in his hands was none other then Legolas.  
  
The human and Elf seemed to be at a standstill. They sat facing each other though it was obvious that they were both having trouble keeping their seats, with their eyes locked as they glared each other down - or at least that was what Aragorn thought they were doing.  
  
As he picked his way through the bodies, careful not to slip on any cups or crush any limbs, Aragorn saw that the two were actually muttering to each other.  
  
"And you...are an insane Elf," Faramir slurred out as his hand waved pointlessly in the air. Grinning toothily at the Elf, he took another loud slurp from his own mug before once again attempting to lock his blurry eyes on the creature before him.  
  
"And you...are a...foolish human..." the Elf replied with what would have been a cheeky grin if his eyes were not so unfocused.  
  
"And you...you are a...very prettyful Elf!" Faramir exclaimed, waving both hands and sloshing a small upsurge of liquor out of his cup to hit the wall behind him.  
  
At that Legolas laughed in a fashion that Aragorn could not quite fathom - was that a giggle? "And you are a-" Legolas continued the banter, only to be cut off as Aragorn came to stand right next to them.  
  
"All right," Aragorn interrupted, drawing both the contestants' attention away from each other and onto him, "that's enough for the Elf." The Elf in question looked up at him and grinned.  
  
Forcefully handing his mug to Faramir, Legolas pushed himself to shaky feet and stood swaying slightly in front of the future king.  
  
"And you are an...Estel!" he said proudly as he poked the human in the chest to emphasize the statement.  
  
"Yes..." Aragorn said slowly, more then a little confused. Reaching out, he looped an arm around Legolas' waist and pulled him up against his side, trying to stop the Elf's confounded swaying before he became seasick. "And you," he replied, "are a very drunk Elf."  
  
Legolas huffed at that, his face set into what he hoped was grim determination. "I am not drunk!" he protested as Aragorn pulled him closer. The way Legolas almost fell, his body ridged and stiff like a tree, reminded the Elf that in order to walk, one must actually move those 'things' that connected to that 'thing' which connected to his 'thing' which allowed him to consume drink.  
  
Siding up against Aragorn with a great deal of difficulty, Legolas was almost certain that the building was caving down with a great rumble when the human began to talk again.  
  
"Time for you to lie down," Aragorn muttered to the Elf before turning to Faramir, "I'll be back for yo-" he stopped when he took in the appearance of the captain of Gondor. The young solider had slumped to the side in his chair. Thankfully his weight had fallen to the left so that he sat half in the chair while the top of his body lent at a forty-five degree angle with his head leaning against the wall.  
  
Wincing at the imagined degree of pain that the man would feel when he woke up, Aragorn turned his attention to the 'prettyful Elf' who was trying to hide his head in his own shoulder to get Aragorn's voice to stop resounding in his ears.  
  
"Come on," Aragorn said as softly as he could while pulling the Elf along. "One foot in front of the other..."  
  
With a little help from Aragorn and a great deal of stumbling over unconscious bodies, the human and Elf found themselves out of the main room and wandering down one of the many passageways of Gondor, on their way to the royal chambers.  
  
About halfway towards the rooms, Legolas decided that he wanted to talk. "He...he..." Legolas started, waving his hand around at about Gimli's head height, "he..."  
  
"Gimli," Aragorn offered with a rise of an eyebrow.  
  
"That's it! Gimli tried to get me drunk!" Legolas exclaimed in what could only be shock. His eyes were huge as he allowed the human to lead him down the hallway and by the strange way his eyes and head darted to the side to look at any and all shadows, Aragorn wondered if the drink had made the Elf paranoid.  
  
"I am quite sure 'tried' is not the right word there," Aragorn muttered as he tightened his grip around his friend's waist and pulled the Elf's minimal weight further into his shoulders. Speeding up their progress, he found himself wishing for a miracle and for his chambers to suddenly uproot themselves and appear right before him.  
  
...He knew he was not that lucky...  
  
"I'm not drunk!" Elf the stated proudly as he wobbled on his feet and glanced fitfully at a tapestry, "the world just got louder and for some preposterous reason is spinning. But never fear," he stopped, pointing at Aragorn as he apparently searched for the human's name.  
  
"Aragorn," his companion offered.  
  
"Yes Aragorn! Never fear Aragorn, I am sure that the world will right itself again!"  
  
"Sure..." the human muttered, mostly to himself. As Legolas distracted himself by glaring evilly at a painting that they passed, Aragorn promised himself to remember to make Gimli's life beyond difficult when he recovered.  
  
*****  
  
"Thank the Valar!" Aragorn exclaimed as he dropped the Elf onto his bed, only barely keeping his balance in the process. What should have been an easy four to five minute walk to his rooms - the closest to the hall - had turned into a mini quest which took them both almost half an hour to complete. All the way down the halls, Legolas had been sure that the paintings had been plotting against them and that the tapestries - often of landscapes - had threatening eyes that he needed to extinguish. Many a time he had reached for his bow and an arrow, only to find his back void of any weapons which, in turn, put him into a flap in regards to his missing armaments. By the end of the trip, Aragorn had made a new resolution; instead of making Gimli's life hell when he recovered, the king was starting to think that he should see to it that the dwarf never recovered...  
  
Either way, at least it was finally over. Legolas was happily lying on the large, soft bed, bouncing slightly with a devious smile on his face and Aragorn could finally sit and see to his aching arm - the limb had been sacrificed to Legolas' tugging and pulling every time a new 'evil painting' had appeared.  
  
From his position on the bed, Legolas murmured up at Aragorn, having stopped his bouncing and settling for lying sprawled out on the bed and deadly still. "I don't feel so good..."  
  
Resisting the urge to leap into a lecture about the after effects of so much drinking, Aragorn merely reached over and placed his hand against Legolas' forehead, feeling the heat radiating off the pale brow.  
  
"Wait here," the human instructed, glad when he received a small nod from the sleepy looking being. Moving as quickly and yet quietly as possible through his bedchamber to the adjacent washroom, Aragorn took a small towel and dipped it into the cool bowl of fresh water.  
  
Returning to the Elf's side he found that the degree of gratefulness he felt when he saw the Elf still sprawled out over the bed was almost overwhelming. The last thing that he wanted to do was go chasing the insane being around the palace as Legolas looked for his 'stolen' weapons.  
  
Careful to be quiet, Aragorn sat himself down next to the other and placed the small, cool cloth on the Elf's brow, soothing away the heat.  
  
"Nice," Legolas muttered, his eyes closed as Aragorn ran the cloth over his face, using it to push away the few stray strands of hair which clung to the fair skin.  
  
Agreeing with the Elf with a soft 'hum' Aragorn placed the cloth over the Elf's eyes and forehead, blocking out the light and keeping the coolness over the hottest part of the Elf's no doubt spinning head. "Go to sleep, Legolas," he said quietly, stroking gently at his companions cheek, "I'll be here if you need me."  
  
A grunt was his reply as the Elf's hand come up to brush upon Aragorn's. "It's your party," Legolas said quietly, his brows crinkling under the cloth as he winced slightly at the sound of his own voice. "You should be out there getting drunk with..." once again he made that shaking motion with his hand, indicating a person of limited height.  
  
"Gimli..."  
  
"Gimli!" Legolas exclaimed with a proud smirk; as if he had come up with the name all on his own.  
  
"And leave you here?" Aragorn questioned with a teasing smile as he lifted up a corner of the cloth, peered under and locked eyes with the other, "you are likely to kill all my wall hangings!"  
  
"Can't..." Legolas muttered as he slapped Aragorn's hands away and allowed the cloth to completely block his sight once more, "no weapons..."  
  
Chuckling to himself, Aragorn rearranged himself on the bed so that he was more comfortable, ignoring Legolas' commands that he stay still and that perhaps it was Aragorn's fault that the world was spinning. Finally settling for lying on his right side, facing the Elf and with his head propped up on his arm, Aragorn studied the face of his friend.  
  
Legolas' breathing was deep and even, his face calm and almost peaceful and he gathered that under the cool cloth Legolas had his eyes closed. The Elf seemed serene; completely at peace with everything around him as he lay there on his back perfectly still. In fact, the only movement was an occasional hiccup-like convolution which successfully managed to rock half the bed.  
  
Fearing that the Elf was likely to be sick, Aragorn reached out and took hold of the cloth, moving it back out of the way so that he could see his friend. "Are you all right?" he asked attentively while spinning the cloth in the air, trying to get it cooler. At his question, Legolas looked towards him and before Aragorn could react, the Elf had reached out and placed his hand over the human's heart.  
  
"You are going to leave me in days, Aragorn..." Legolas whispered. "Arwen will arrive, and then you will be married and with your kingdom..." As soon as he started talking, the prince found that it was not within his power to stop the flow of words. "It hurts Aragorn! I would never come between you and Arwen, and we knew that this day was coming; but it does not stop it from hurting."  
  
His voice, so clear and even and his words to sincere, made the human down up to see a pair of startling blue eyes staring up at him, void of all signs of drunkenness. Looking at the Elf then, realization came easily to the future king and soon to be husband.  
  
"You were never drunk at all, were you?" he asked with a sad smile as he wrapped his arms around his long time lover and pulled the Elf closer.  
  
"Me?" Legolas questioned flabbergasted and yet faking innocence even through his obvious upset, "drunk on human ale? Never! Just seeking attention... But I did have you fooled, didn't I?"  
  
"You had me worried," Aragorn corrected his lover, "I was going to have serious 'words' with Gimli..." Leaning down and placing a soft kiss to the Elf's brow, Aragorn muttered, "and you always have my attention."  
  
"You mean you were going to torment him," the Elf teased knowingly, only smiling warmly at the last part of Aragorn's confession.  
  
"You can count on it," Aragorn smiled almost evilly. Leaning over, he placed a soft yet loving kiss on the Elf's lips, causing Legolas' eyes to close and a small 'hmm' to form in his throat.  
  
"What are you doing?" the Elf asked as Aragorn brushed his lips against his again.  
  
"I thought that was pretty obvious..."  
  
"Taking advantage of a drunken Elf..."  
  
"You're not drunk..."  
  
The last comment seemed to keep the Elf quiet as Aragorn kissed him again, this time a little more forcefully and filled with a greater deal of passion and need. After a time and with a soft whimper, Legolas gently pushed the human away, knowing full well what would happen if they continued and knowing that as the days went on, he and Aragorn became something that weighed heavier and heavier upon his heart. For his part, Aragorn seemed to understand, being content to pull the Elf back into his arms and not push the subject any further.  
  
"When she comes," Legolas started after awhile only to be hushed gently by Aragorn. "No, this needs to be spoken out loud," Legolas insisted. "When she comes - when you are to be married, I will be here for you, but after that..."  
  
"I don't want to lose you," Aragorn murmured as he entwined their fingers together.  
  
"You have to," Legolas replied sadly, "but I will be by your side in an instant if you ever need me."  
  
"I know I cannot ask you to stay, but must you go back to Mirkwood - sorry, Eryn Lasgalen?"  
  
"Then where-"  
  
"Bring some of your people," Aragorn suggested in a hurry, prepared to do anything to keep the Elf closer to Gondor and yet not cause him sadness. "Do as you once spoke of and bring beauty back to Ithilien."  
  
"So be it," Legolas said with a smile, actually liking the idea of restoring the land which had been plagued by the Dark Lord for so long. It would do his people good - give them something to work towards and relish in before finally passing over the sea and out of the world whose rule now fell into the hands of the humans.  
  
Pushing himself from the bed, Legolas smiled apologetically and yet mischievously to the questioning look Aragorn sent his way. They still had a number of days before Arwen's arrival, but even now, as the time drew closer, Legolas knew that they could not keep this up until the very day. It was unfair to all of them; Arwen for their deceit, Aragorn for his commitment and duty to his people and Legolas for the fact that he had allowed himself to desire and, even if only for a moment, have the one thing that he never could.  
  
"Now if you would excuse me," the Elven prince said with a roguish twinkle in his eye, trying to hide the emotions within him from Aragorn, "I have a dose of payback to issue; time to torment Gimli in his drunken state...I believe those under the influence of drink are rather sensitive to noise."  
  
*****  
  
The end  
  
I hope you liked that.  
  
Minka 


End file.
